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but he will transfer the power of love from corporeal things to the intelligible and immaterial contemplation of the beautiful. For such a disposition of the soul, therefore, the virginity of the body was devised for us, so that it might especially instill in the soul forgetfulness and oblivion of the passionate movements of nature, bringing no necessity to be occupied with the base debts of the flesh. For once it has been freed from such debts, it no longer runs the risk that, through gradual habituation to things that seem to be permitted by some law of nature, it might fall into aversion to and ignorance of the divine and pure pleasure, which only purity of heart in our ruling faculty is naturally constituted to attain.

6.t Chapter 4 That Elijah and John of the strictness of the life

of this took care. 6.1 For this reason it seems to me that both Elijah, great among the prophets, and he who "in the spirit and power of Elijah" came into the world after him, of whom "no one born of women is greater," if indeed the history concerning them reveals anything else enigmatically, they teach this especially by their own life: that the one who devotes himself to the contemplation of things unseen should be separated from the course of human life, so that, by becoming accustomed to such deceptions that come through the senses, he may not suffer some confusion and error concerning the judgment of the truly good. For both from their youth were estranged from human life and placed themselves, as it were, outside of nature by their contempt for food and drink of the usual and customary nourishment and by their life in the desert, so that their hearing was kept undisturbed by sound, and their sight undistracted, and their taste remained simple and artless, the need of each being satisfied by whatever was at hand. From this they came into a great calm and tranquility from external disturbances, and for this reason they were raised to such a greatness of divine gifts as the account records concerning each of them. For Elijah, on the one hand, having been appointed like some steward of God's gifts, was master with authority both to shut off the rain from heaven from sinners and to release it for those who repent; but John, on the other hand, performed no such wonder, says the divine history, yet the gift in him has been attested by Him who sees what is hidden as greater than that of any prophet; perhaps because from beginning to end they offered up their desire to the Lord, pure and unmixed with any material affection, not being occupied with affection for children, nor with care for wives, nor with any other human affair; who indeed did not even think it fitting for themselves to be anxious for necessary daily food, and having shown themselves superior to elegance of clothing, they improvised their necessities from whatever was at hand, the one clothed "with goatskins," the other "with camel's hair," and they would not have reached that greatness, as I think, if they had been softened by the pleasures of the body because of marriage. And these things, not simply, but, as the Apostle says, "have been written for our instruction," so that according to their life we might also direct our own. What then do we learn from these things? That he who desires to be united to God, in imitation of the holy men, should not occupy his mind with any of the affairs of this life. For it is not possible for one who is dispersed in his thought among many things to travel straight towards the understanding and desire of God.

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ἀλλὰ μετα θήσει τὴν ἐρωτικὴν δύναμιν ἀπὸ τῶν σωματικῶν ἐπὶ τὴν νοητήν τε καὶ ἄϋλον τοῦ καλοῦ θεωρίαν. Πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην τοίνυν τῆς ψυχῆς διάθεσιν ἡ παρθενία τοῦ σώματος ἡμῖν ἐπενοήθη, ὡς ἂν μάλιστα λήθην καὶ ἀμνηστίαν ἐμποιήσειε τῇ ψυχῇ τῶν ἐμπαθῶν τῆς φύσεως κινημάτων, μηδεμίαν ἀνάγκην ἐπάγουσα πρὸς τὰ ταπεινὰ τῆς σαρκὸς ὀφλήματα καταγίνεσθαι. Ἐλευθερωθεῖσα γὰρ ἅπαξ τῶν τοιούτων χρεῶν οὐκέτι κινδυνεύει μὴ τῷ κατ' ὀλίγον προσεθισμῷ περὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα νόμῳ τινὶ φύσεως συγκεχωρῆσθαι ἐν ἀποστροφῇ καὶ ἀγνοίᾳ τῆς θείας τε καὶ ἀκηράτου γένηται ἡδονῆς, ἣν μόνη καρδίας καθαρότης τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν ἡγεμονι κοῦ θηρεύειν πέφυκεν.

6.t Κεφάλαιον ʹ Ὅτι Ἠλίας καὶ Ἰωάννης τῆς ἀκριβείας τοῦ βίου

τούτου ἐπεμελήθησαν. 6.1 ∆ιὰ τοῦτό μοι δοκεῖ καὶ ὁ μέγας ἐν προφήταις Ἠλίας καὶ ὁ «ἐν

πνεύματι καὶ δυνάμει Ἠλιοῦ» μετ' ἐκεῖνον ἐπιδη μήσας τῷ βίῳ, οὗ «μείζων οὐδεὶς ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν», εἴπερ τι καὶ ἕτερον ἡ κατ' αὐτοὺς ἱστορία παραδηλοῖ δι' αἰνίγματος, τοῦτο μάλιστα τῷ ἰδίῳ δογματίζειν βίῳ τὸ χωρισθῆναι τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου βίου ἀκολουθίας τὸν τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῶν ἀοράτων ἀποσχολάζοντα, ὡς ἂν μὴ ταῖς τοιαύς ἀπάταις ταῖς διὰ τῶν αἰσθήσεων γινομέναις προσε θισθεὶς σύγχυσίν τινα καὶ πλάνην πάθοι περὶ τὴν τοῦ ὄντως ἀγαθοῦ κρίσιν. Ἀμφότεροι γὰρ εὐθὺς ἐκ νέων ἀπε ξενώθησαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς καὶ οἷον ἔξω τῆς φύσεως ἑαυτοὺς ἔστησαν τῇ τε περὶ τὴν βρῶσιν καὶ πόσιν ὑπεροψίᾳ τῆς συνήθους καὶ νενομισμένης τροφῆς καὶ τῇ κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον διαγωγῇ, ὡς καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν ἀπεριήχητον, καὶ ἀμετεώριστον αὐτοῖς φυλαχθῆναι τὴν ὄψιν, καὶ τὴν γεῦσιν ἁπλῆν τε καὶ ἀπραγμάτευτον διαμεῖναι, ἐκ τοῦ προστυ χόντος ἑκατέροις πληρουμένης τῆς χρείας. Ἐντεῦθεν εἰς πολλὴν εὐδίαν καὶ γαλήνην ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν θορύβων κατέστησαν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰς τοσοῦτον μέγεθος τῶν θείων χαρισμάτων ἐπήρθησαν, ὅσον περὶ ἑκατέρου τούτων μνη μονεύει ὁ λόγος. Ἠλίας μὲν γὰρ καθάπερ ταμίας τις τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ δωρεῶν καταστὰς τὰς ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ χρείας κατ' ἐξουσίαν καὶ ἀποκλείειν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι καὶ ἀνιέναι τοῖς μετανοοῦσι κύριος ἦν· τὸν δέ γε Ἰωάννην τοιοῦτον μέν τι θαυματοποιῆσαι οὐδὲν ἡ θεία φησὶν ἱστορία, περισσότερον δὲ ἢ κατὰ πάντα προφήτην τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ χάρισμα παρὰ τοῦ τὰ κρυπτὰ βλέποντος μεμαρτύρηται· τάχα ὅτι καθαράν τε καὶ ἀμιγῆ πάσης ὑλικῆς προσπα θείας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἐπιθυμίαν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς εἰς τέλος τῷ κυρίῳ ἀνέθηκαν, οὔτε εἰς τέκνων στοργὴν οὔτε εἰς γυναικῶν φροντίδα οὔτε εἰς ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀπασχολήσαντες· οἵ γε μηδὲ τῆς καθ' ἡμέραν ἀναγκαίου τροφῆς πρέπειν ἑαυτοῖς ὑπολαβόντες τὴν μέριμναν τῆς τε τῶν ἐνδυμάτων σεμνότητος κρείττους ἐπιδειχθέντες ἐκ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων ἑαυτοῖς τὰς χρείας ἀπεσχεδίαζον, ὁ μὲν «δέρμασιν αἰγείοις», ὁ δὲ «καμήλου θριξὶ» σκεπαζόμενος, οὐκ ἂν εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέγεθος, ὡς οἶμαι, φθάσαντες, εἰ ταῖς τοῦ σώματος ἡδυπαθείαις ὑπὸ τοῦ γάμου κατεμαλάχθησαν. Ταῦτα δὲ οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλά, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, εἰς «νου θεσίαν ἡμῶν ἀναγέγραπται», ἵνα πρὸς τὸν ἐκείνων βίον καὶ τὸν ἑαυτῶν κατευθύνωμεν. Τί οὖν ἐκ τούτων μανθά νομεν; Τὸ καθ' ὁμοιότητα τῶν ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν μηδενὶ τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων προσασχολεῖν τὴν διάνοιαν τὸν ἐπιθυμοῦντα τῷ θεῷ συναφθῆναι. Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι δυνατὸν τὸν εἰς πολλὰ τῇ διανοίᾳ διαχεόμενον πρὸς θεοῦ κατα νόησιν καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν εὐθυπορῆσαι.